I expect it is precisely that. Some numpty will set up a camera, looking directly into the sun, with a dirty great big telephoto, and will stare into it for ages, burn out their retina, then claim compensation from the manufacturer for not warning them that the sun is bright. People who sue a restaurant or cafe 'cos the coffee was very hot & they scalded their tongue, then find an idiot judge who'll grant them millions in damages, they're the ones the camera makers are scared of, and so they tell us stupid things, all to cover their arse.

It is precisely because you can blow out your eye. I take pics into the sun but not with long telephotos. What made me be more cautious was I was setting up a small telescope that is much like a camera lens, 500mm focal length, and I do have a solar filter for it, but I wanted to get it pointed at the sun first as it would make it easier to find once the solar filter was attached. I was smart enough not to look at it but I was watching the transmitted image straight out the back of the telescope and it was pointed at my chest, I found the sun and within about 3 seconds I had a smoking hole in my t-shirt and tiny burn just starting on my skin. So yes it can be dangerous, just be cautious. A lens is focusing light.

Your should definitely not shoot into the sun. That's what the instructions for my Canon 5D said. So I went to Turkey and shot this picture of a total eclipse in 2006. Oops ! Sorry Canon.

1.3 seconds at f4.0 ISO400. But, photographically, not my finest hour (image for illustrative rather than aesthetic purposes). In competition a judge said that the foreground needed a little more light on it (a touch of fill-in flash perhaps ?). Someone else kindly pointed-out it was an eclipse and thus inclined to be dark(ish).

This was my first experience of shooting digitally. A tad over ambitious subject perhaps ? Also, my first experience of a total solar eclipse. I highly recommend the latter. Although it didn't change my life it was awe inspriring. I will never forget it.

And dont try to reduce the dangers by using a neutral density filter. They don't filter many of the harmful rays since you eyes will adjust to the lower light level with a bigger pupil the actual amount of dangerous exposure is higher.

I shoot with sun in the frame, but I pull my eye a little away from viewfinder so it is not staring at the sun directly. I can usually manage composition with my eye an inch or two away from eyecup, but if composition is wrong, I can always take another (or dozen more) shots.

With rangefinder cameras (and, I suppose, the current mirrorless models), it is very possible to burn the focal plane shutter if aimed at the sun too long. In fact, a local photographer was showing me his patched M4 shutter just the other day. Just focus an image of the sun on a piece of paper with any lens to see how quickly it can happen.

With rangefinder cameras (and, I suppose, the current mirrorless models), it is very possible to burn the focal plane shutter if aimed at the sun too long. In fact, a local photographer was showing me his patched M4 shutter just the other day. Just focus an image of the sun on a piece of paper with any lens to see how quickly it can happen.

The M4's shutter is rubberized cloth. A modern shutter is more likely to either warp (metal) or melt (plastic).

And dont try to reduce the dangers by using a neutral density filter. They don't filter many of the harmful rays since you eyes will adjust to the lower light level with a bigger pupil the actual amount of dangerous exposure is higher.

Practical ND filters are not perfect, as they do not reduce the intensity of all wavelengths equally. This can sometimes create color casts in recorded images, particularly with inexpensive filters. More significantly, most ND filters are only specified over the visible region of the spectrum, and do not proportionally block all wavelengths of ultraviolet or infrared radiation. This can be dangerous if using ND filters to view sources (such as the sun or white-hot metal or glass) which emit intense non-visible radiation, since the eye may be damaged even though the source does not look bright when viewed through the filter. Special filters must be used if such sources are to be safely viewed.